The chief of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), Manzoor Pashteen, was arrested by the police after his vehicle allegedly fired at them, according to Chaman Deputy Commissioner Raja Athar Abbas. The PTM had claimed earlier that Pashteen’s vehicle was fired at by law enforcement agencies while he was traveling from Chaman to Turbat, where protests were underway against an alleged extra-judicial killing.
Pashteen was arrested in connection with the incident and for violating a ban on his entry to Balochistan. He will be presented before a district magistrate. The PTM had stated that the police and army carried out straight firing on Pashteen’s vehicle while he was traveling from Chaman to Turbat.
Caretaker Balochistan Information Minister Jan Achakzai referred to the PTM as an “anti-Pakistan organization” and stated that Pashteen had been banned from entering Balochistan, with notifications issued three times by the interior ministry. The minister also mentioned that Pashteen had staged a rally in Chaman without the government’s permission and was hiding in a village with his guards. He denied any knowledge of the firing and suggested that firing could have also been caused by Pashteen’s guards.